District 211 Title IX Coach Dies After Battle With Cancer

PALATINE, IL — One of the first Title IX coaches at Palatine High School has died following a nearly two-year battle with brain cancer. Karen Bock Kublank was the school's first girls' tennis coach in 1972, which was also the year girls sports first started at Palatine High, according to the Daily Herald. Her husband, Jerry Kublank, told the Daily Herald her wife and the other first coaches of Title IX "did a great job" and he credited his wife for laying "the groundwork for a successful program" at Palatine High.

Kublank met her husband, who was also a teacher, on New Teacher Day, and they both taught together within District 211 for over 30 years, according to her obituary.

Kublank was an English teacher at Palatine High from 1972 as the English Department Chair at Schaumburg High School from 2001 to 2005. She sponsored the student council and served as the president of the local Illinois Association of Student Councils district and established the Palatine Christmas Bazaar, according to her obituary.

During her time with District 211, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award, Principal’s Award of Excellence, and District 211 Honored Faculty Member Award.

After her retirement, she organized the Barrington Giving Day, which is held each August.

Karen was diagnosed with glioblastoma in October 2017. She died on July 3.

A visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on July 12 at Davenport Funeral Home, 149 West Main Street in Barrington. On Saturday, a visitation will be held at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 720 Dundee Ave. in Barrington, from 10 a.m. until the time of a funeral service at 11 a.m.

More via the Daily Herald and Kublank's obituary